FX8 with real drive pedal please help me understand. Thaaanks

P

puleac

Member
hello.
I bought a FX8 unit that I want to use it with my mesa boogie lonestar classic combo.
I do not like the drives in the fx8 because if I try to play some country music with a little bit of overdriven tone I think the notes get very muddy when picking 2 strings at the same time,blablabla.So I really want to use a real overdrive pedal.Now this is what I want to do,please tell me if it is possible:
I want to have the real OD pedal in front of the amp and then by using 4CM to have the FX8 effects post amp but only the compressor block and the wah block pre amp.
is it possible this way?So I connected the FX8 to the amp as shown in the manual for the 4CM and instead of going from FX8 OUT [PRE] LEFT into my amplifier I plugged this cable into the input of my real OD and from the output of the OD into my amp.
This way my guitar goes still into the FX8 in pre.Does this mean now my OD pedal is in front of the amp?and now I can use the compressor and wah from the FX8 "PRE AMP" and the other time based effects post amp?because I would like to sell my real compressor pedal and my real wah pedal and to use the ones from FX8 but only PRE AMP.
if that is not possible I will have to use fx8 only into the loop of the amp and this way I am entirely sure that my guitar gets plugged directly into the OD pedal which remains PRE AMP and the FX8 remains only in loop of the amp but I guess this way I won't be able anymore to route some effects from it PRE AMP,in this case I will have to use real compressor and wah in front of the amp.
Please help me,many thanks lads!!!
 
I just noticed that if the FX8 goes into the loop you cannot have effects PRE amp but only POST amp so it's not helping me.My worry is that my drive pedal is not going through the amp directly but through FX8 if use the 4CM.
I'm getting lost LOL.sorry if it looks confusing what I am trying to ask here .
probably the best solution for me would be to use FX8 in LOOP only and real WAH/COMP/OD in front of the amp.
or I could try to see what the comp and wah sound POST amp so I keep my OD pedal directly plugged into the amp's input and my guitar goes into the OD pedal.I don't know why I don't trust processors,thinking that if I link that OD pedal with the FX8 will lose its tone.
got an Ibanez ts808 japan 1979...
bloody hell
 
The 4CM you described in your first post will work just fine and your presumption that the overdrive is going into the front of your amp is correct.
As far as the FX8 doing anything to the tone of the real overdrive going into the amp, the only way you're going to know for sure is to try it yourself.
That said, running the overdrive after the FX8 into your amp is no different than placing it in the same position of a chain of other real effects. The FX8 is transparent, I have yet to hear any complaints about the FX8 messing up anyone's external pedals tone.
 
so basically the way I connected the drive pedal from the out 1 pre to the input of the OD then its output into the amp and my guitar into FX8 makes the OD being in front of the amp but last pedal in the chain,right?so in this case I can use WAH/COMP blocks from FX8 pre amp and the drive comes after,please correct me if I am wrong.
what if I put my guitar into OD then its output into the FX8 IN then its output into the amp will make my drive pedal the first one in the chain but after that the wah/comp blocks won't be anymore in front of the drive and that would be wrong,am I right?
thanks
 
As far as placement, I've found it easier to understand if I create a flow "diagram" of the chain:

To place your overdrive pedal last in the pre chain, going into the front of the amp, it would look like this:

Guitar > FX8 OUT 1 (PRE) > OD pedal > Amp Input > Amp Effects Send > FX8 IN 2 (POST) > FX8 OUT 2 (POST) > Amp Effects Return
This will allow you to put the wah, compressor and other "pre" effects before your overdrive and into the front of the amp.

Placing your overdrive first in the chain would look like this:

Guitar > OD pedal > FX8 OUT 1 (PRE) > Amp Input > Amp Effects Send > FX8 IN 2 (POST) > FX8 OUT 2 (POST) > Amp Effects Return
This places all pre effects after your overdrive ped

There are preferred ways or suggested starting points for laying out effects but it's up to you to determine how they best work for you and the overall effect you are wanting to accomplish. If your overdrive is being used as a boost, the compressor in front of the drive makes more sense because you're wanting more volume. If you're using it to add gain or push the amp, the compressor after the drive may work just fine since this method usually alters the tonal characteristic of the amp and not volume. You are correct that Compressors and wahs are typically placed in front of drives, but I personally prefer the wah after. I just like the way it interacts with the drive. Everyone is different, experiment and find out what sounds best to your ears. That's all that matters.
 
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